Quiz for American Voices: Ordinary People Respond to the New Deal

Question

1. In her letter to Eleanor Roosevelt, Mrs. M. H. A. wrote, “My work has continued and my salary alone has just been sufficient to make our monthly payments on the house and keep our bills paid. . . . But with the exception of two and one-half months work with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey . . . my husband has not had work since August, 1932.” This passage provides evidence of which of the following Depression-era trends?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. This passage from Mrs. M. H. A. provides evidence of the widespread unemployment of men, who were typically viewed as the major breadwinners. Women workers also experienced unemployment but at substantially lower rates than men.
Incorrect. The answer is d. This passage from Mrs. M. H. A. provides evidence of the widespread unemployment of men, who were typically viewed as the major breadwinners. Women workers also experienced unemployment but at substantially lower rates than men.

Question

2. In an unsigned letter to Franklin Roosevelt in 1936, a Texas factory worker wrote, “I can’t see for my life President why a man must toil & work his life out in Such factories 10 long hours ever day except Sunday for a small sum of 15 cents to 35 cents per hour & pay the high cost of honest & deason living expences. . . . please see if something can be done to help this one Class of Working People.” Which part of the New Deal specifically addressed the issues that were raised in this letter?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act addressed complaints like those outlined in this letter by mandating a maximum 44-hour seven-day workweek, establishing a national minimum wage, guaranteeing “time-and-a-half” for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibiting most child labor.
Incorrect. The answer is b. The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act addressed complaints like those outlined in this letter by mandating a maximum 44-hour seven-day workweek, establishing a national minimum wage, guaranteeing “time-and-a-half” for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibiting most child labor.

Question

3. In May 1934, an architect and builder from Lincoln, Nebraska, wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, “We have been honorable citizens all along our journey, calamity and old age has forced its self upon us please do not send us to the Poor Farm but instead allow us the small pension of $40 per month.” The Roosevelt administration responded to situations like this one with which of the following programs?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. In order to respond to the problem of poverty among the elderly in the United States, the Roosevelt administration instituted an old-age pension as part of the Social Security Act of 1935.
Incorrect. The answer is c. In order to respond to the problem of poverty among the elderly in the United States, the Roosevelt administration instituted an old-age pension as part of the Social Security Act of 1935.

Question

4. In her 1937 letter to Eleanor Roosevelt, M. A., the low-level corporate employee, wrote, “We expect to be tramped on but we do wish the stepping would be a little less hard. Security at the price of freedom is never desired by intelligent people.” The writer is expressing her opposition to which of the following?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. The writer of this letter objects to the Social Security program and to the expansion of the federal state for the purpose of protecting the basic welfare of citizens.
Incorrect. The answer is b. The writer of this letter objects to the Social Security program and to the expansion of the federal state for the purpose of protecting the basic welfare of citizens.

Question

5. In a 1937 letter to Eleanor Roosevelt, a widow named M. A. H. wrote, “I live alone on a farm and have not raised any crops for the last two years as there was no help to be had. . . . There are several reliefers around here now who have been kicked off relief but they refuse to work unless they can get relief hours and wages, but they are so worthless no one can afford to hire them.” In this letter, M. A. H. was articulating a critique of the

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. The writer of this letter was criticizing social welfare programs that provided payments to unemployed workers. She suggested that such programs only served to help the lazy and shiftless, who then had no incentive to work for pay.
Incorrect. The answer is c. The writer of this letter was criticizing social welfare programs that provided payments to unemployed workers. She suggested that such programs only served to help the lazy and shiftless, who then had no incentive to work for pay.